Dreaming of Paris in the springtime

Days and days of seemingly
endless filthy weather, makes me think otherwise.

A lucky friend of
mine, today, leaves for Paris.

Paris in springtime!

I can only dream, and
reminisce.

MGG (My Greek God)
and I, have been through Paris, countless times, and got lost countless times
in the process, I might add, on car trips from Greece to England and vice
versa, but, we had never actually spent any time there.

Well MGG had, in his
youth, this he thought, made him an expert, we still got lost though!

MGG at a very tender age in Paris

We kept thinking of
having a proper visit, doing all the tourist stuff, but never got round to it,
then, in 1992 Disneyland opened in Paris, having two young children, begging to
go, this was our chance!

We let it go for a
couple of years, the thinking being, it’s new, it’s a novelty, it will be
absolutely heaving, in 1994, we booked the tickets.

Disneyland Paris

Now, my faithful followers,
will know, that MGG has a terrible fear of flying, which means, we travel
everywhere by car.

This is actually the
best way to travel, you get to see so much more, and, if you get lost, you see
much more than you bargained for!

We packed the car, to
MGG’s military standards, this bag for the ferry boat, this bag for Italy, this
bag for France, this bag for the return journey, let me tell you, he was so
strict, no way, could the bag for Italy, be opened in France, or the bag for
France, opened on the ferry boat!

The bags were put
into the car boot in order of destination, last stops at the back, first stops,
at the front; I’m surprised he didn’t label them!

The first stop was
Patras to board the ferry boat to Ancona, Italy, then, on through Italy, Switzerland,
the Mont Blanc tunnel and into France.

The children were
aged nine and eleven, I had worried about the boredom of long stints in the
car, but, Nintendos’s Gameboy, saved the day!

We made various stops
in Italy, the first being Florence.

MGG was convinced,
and still is, that if you leave your car unattended in Italy, it won’t be there, when you return, so,
no way was he risking leaving it parked in a side street, just to trek round Florence.

My son, Yiannis,
opted to stay in the car with him, while I forcefully dragged my daughter,
Nais, around the streets of Florence.

Baptistery Doors. Florence.Italy

This forced sightseeing,
happened to Nais a lot on this trip.

MGG is just not
interested in ruins, churches, art or history, to him, The Acropolis, in Athens, is just a pile of
stones!

It is so much easier,
and saves all the grumbling, to park him in a coffee shop, and go and do my
thing, alone!

If asked about his
memories of our trips together, he is likely to say, of San Gimignano for
example;

“Is that where I
watched them cleaning out the well?

Or, of Como;

“Is that where I lost
my glasses”

Never anything about
the actual place!

I do have to say
though, he is very accommodating, he will take me anywhere, walk the streets,
visit restaurants, bars and cafes, but, churches, ruins and museums, I visit
alone.

After Nais’s
informative walk around Florence, we went on to Pisa, where we spent the night
in a beautiful old palazzo, converted into a hotel, so near to the tower you
felt that you could have reached out of the window and touched it.

Yiannis & Nais Pisa

The drawback about this historical hotel was that it
was hundreds of years old, and smelled like it!

Damp, fusty and
musty, so bad, I could not sleep with my pillow, which smelled as if it had
been stored in a damp cellar!

Sadly, this was at
the time when The Leaning Tower of Pisa was unsafe to enter, not that I would
have, with my fear of heights, but the children would have liked to go up to
the top.

Yiannis & Nais Pisa

After Pisa, we pressed
on north, up through Switzerland
towards Mont Blanc.

This was before the tragedy
of the infamous fire in the tunnel, we have been through it since a few times, and
the awful fear of it happening again, is always at the back of your mind.

French side of the Mont Blanc tunnel

French side of the Mont Blanc tunnel

We spent one more
night, somewhere in France,
and the next day arrived at Disneyland, Paris.

Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris

It’s an amazing
place, the children had a ball, we stayed three nights in the SequoiaLodge
Hotel, I really would say, you need three days to see the whole place.

Yiannis & Nais outside the Sequoia Lodge
Disneyland Paris

The enjoyment of
numerous scary rides, came to an abrupt end for me, after trying out “Space
mountain”, I should have known better than to climb aboard, after reading the
sign;

“Do not go on this ride if you have a heart
condition”

After that, I stuck
to “It’s a small world” and “Peter pan’s boat”!

Before starting our
return journey to Greece, we
had a day in Paris.

Paris

A wonderful day, we
visited all the “Must see” places;

Notre Dame, and the museum, (Good old Nais
accompanied me again), the Place de Concord, Sacre Coeur, Montmartre, and, of course,The Eiffel
Tower.

Notre Dame Paris

Notre Dame Paris

MGG and the children went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, needless to say, I didn't.

I tried, but, could only make it to the second or third level!

View from the top of the Eiffel Tower.Paris

MGG, Yiannis & Nais

Hungry in Paris

Crowded in Paris

Before leaving Paris, we couldn't not visit the Louvre,
you just can’t take everything in with only one visit, it is huge, you could
visit for everyday of your life, I think, and still need to go back again!

I suppose you have
guessed, MGG sat outside at the coffee shop!

Look what he missed!

Louvre Paris

Louvre Paris

Louvre Paris

The Mona Lisa
Louvre Paris

Venus De Milo
Louvre Paris

Victory of Samothrace
Louvre Paris

I did manage to entice MGG to the church of Sacre Coeur, in the Monmartre area of Paris,was it worth it though?

He moaned and moaned, as did Yiannis, my son, who spent the rest of the day saying;

Oh, Sacre coeur, Sacre Coeur!

Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur

You can not visit Paris without sampling the delicious macarons from Laduree, they are to die for.

By the way, photographs were not really allowed in here, but just look at the spectacular interior of the shop.

Nearly as good as the macarons themselves!

Laduree Paris

And don't forget to have coffee in one of the coffee shops, frequented in the past, by so many famous writers, poets and painters.

Cafe De Flore Paris

If you do try your luck on the Paris Metro, be warned, it is very smelly!

Paris Metro

As we were there for only one day, we didn't visit the well known cabarets of Paris, or get to see the amazing can can dancers, just saw them from the outside , looking in, so to speak!

Folies Bergere Paris

Lido Paris

Moulin Rouge Paris

Paris is such a beautiful, but melancholy city, so beautiful, in fact, that my daughter,
after a recent stay there, said;

“It was so beautiful,
I wanted to cry”

View down the Seine Paris

Arc de Triumph Paris

We said goodbye to Paris, vowing to return, to spend more time getting to know this magnificent city of light.

We were now on the
road again, back to Greece, with an
overnight stop in Milan.

Milan Italy

Turning any corner, from the side streets and alleyways of Milan, the sight of The Duomo, in Piazza Del Duomo, really does take your breath away, it's just suddenly there, in front of you, in all its glory.

After shopping in the La Rinascente department store, where Nais, at the tender age of nine, insisted on buying some Chanel number five scent, we had coffee at the rooftop restaurant, the view over the top of the Duomo was astonishing!

Shopping in Milan

Shopping in Milan

Piazza Del Duomo Milan Italy

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele IIMilan Italy

Here, in the flagship
store of Prada, I bought the most expensive handbag that I have ever bought.

After all these years,
and much daily use, it’s still in great condition, that’s what you get when you
buy quality; you get what you pay for!

After buying this
treasure, it was put into the “Italy
bag” in the car boot.

A big mistake, it had
to stay there until we were home in Greece.

MGG would not let me
open the “Italy
bag”

All I wanted to do
was look at it, stroke it, my Prada bag, I own a Prada bag!

I have grown up a bit
since then, I don’t stroke bags anymore, and have realized, that owning a Prada
bag, is not the be all and end all.

Last stop, Ancona, before boarding the ferry that would sail us back
to Greece,
we did our gift shopping, for friends and family back home.

Contrary to belief, Ancona, away from the
port, has the most amazing shops.

We had discovered
this on previous trips, while killing time, waiting to board the ship.

We have since been
around Europe, countless times, but, never stayed in Paris.

So, until we do, I
shall once again, watch my Paris
films, I have watched both these films over and over, they really do transport you away to Paris!"Paris J'Tame" is a collection of short stories about life in Paris.Paris, Je T'aime [DVD]"Paris" features one of my favourite actresses, Juliette Binoche.Paris [DVD] [2008]Or why not sit back,listen to Jazzradio, the Paris cafe section, listen HERE and dream?

Paris films
The next best thing to being there!

One day, one day soon
I hope.

Ouf, looking out of
the window, I see that it is still poring with rain;

I shall go and sort
out my summer clothes, summer has to arrive sometime, doesn't it?